Elon Musk has made no secret that he wants to solve Los Angeles’ traffic woes with underground tunnels, where cars could bolt below the city at speeds of more than 100 miles per hour. The billionaire entrepreneur says his project, dubbed Loop, would be a “significant public benefit” that unsnarls traffic. He claims he can finish burrowing a 17-mile tunnel between Sherman Oaks and LAX by the end of 2018. The Boring Company, Musk’s tunneling company, is already at work building a test ...

Shenzhen is set to become the first city in the world to have a fully electrified bus fleet. From a small collection of fishing villages 40 years ago to a metropolis on track for a global milestone, Shenzhen has come further, faster than most cities. Already home to the largest fleet of electric buses in the world – roughly 14,500 at the end of May – the city is expected to electrify 100 percent of its public transit bus fleet by the end of 2017. If successful, it will become the first in ...

Solar panels could be used to power a sizeable chunk of Britain’s DC electric rail network, a new report has suggested. Climate change charity 10:10 and Imperial College London’s Energy Futures Lab looked at the feasibility of using solar panels alongside the track to directly power the railway. The report claims that 15 per cent of the commuter network in Kent, Sussex and Wessex could be powered directly by 200 small solar farms. It suggested that solar panels could also supply 6 per cent ...

Govs. Christie, Cuomo commit to their financial share of Gateway Tunnel project – The governors of New York and New Jersey on Wednesday pledged to fund 100 percent of their states’ share of the new Gateway Hudson Tunnel. The tunnel is an essential part of the Northeast Corridor that connects New York and New Jersey and is the nation’s most critical major infrastructure project, according to a joint press release issued by the governors’ offices. New York state will commit ...

TfL commissioner Mike Brown has highlighted how digital innovation is the “salvation” for the capital’s transport network and has urged those working in the industry to come forward with ideas that will keep the TfL at the forefront of an ever-increasing technological world… By the end of the decade, the Department for Transport’s resource budget will be slashed by 37% and as part of these cuts TfL’s operational budget of almost £700m a year will be wiped out out before the end ...

The Verband Deutscher Verkehrsunternehmen (VDV – Association of German Transport Operators) and seven transport undertakings from across Germany and Austria have set up a joint group to procure tram-train LRVs to drive efficiencies of scale for new rolling stock. The group’s formation brings to fruition discussions dating back to 2009 as German operators noted the disparity when placing orders compared to comparable heavy rail alternatives. VDV TramTrain will now attempt to obtain better ...

The German/Swiss planning slogan, organization before electronics before concrete, means that transit agencies should first make sure all modes of public transit are coordinated to work together (organization) before engaging in expensive capital construction. In the US, most urban transit agencies do this reasonably well, with integrated planning between buses and trains (light rail or subway); there’s a lot of room for improvement, but basics like “don’t run buses that duplicate a subway ...

Just over a mile south of Stirling station was what was once considered to be Scotland’s highest risk footpath crossing. St Ninian’s crossing was located on Millhall Road and, although it had been closed to road traffic for many years, it remained open for pedestrian use. Within just a two-minute walk from the town’s Braehead and Broombridge housing estates, this crossing was heavily used. Tragically, it had seen an atypical number of incidents, with one fatality and six near misses ...

Until recently, the idea of fully electric commercial flight wasn’t even on my radar. But as battery costs come down dramatically, this prospect is moving from (ahem) pie-in-the-sky to a very real possibility within the next decade or so. The trouble is, we need to start cutting carbon now. Luckily, electrification isn’t always an all-or-nothing proposition, especially in a plane with several engines. A new partnership from Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Siemens appears to take advantage of ...

Electric versions of London’s famous black cabs are hitting the capital’s streets today in preparation for the introduction of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) next year. The vehicles come with a range of new features including Wi-Fi, USB charging and a sunroof. The six-seat, battery-powered cabs have a range up to 650km and passenger fares are slated to match those of their diesel predecessors, so users can go green at no additional cost. They can travel 80 miles on a single battery ...

The West Midlands Combined Authority/Transport for West Midlands (WMCA) is delighted to announce an exciting one-time opportunity to own not only a piece of transport history, but also a fleet of 15 type T-69 light rail vehicles. Originally purchased from Italian manufacturer Ansaldo Trasporti and in operation between 1998-2014, the former standard bearers of the Line One route between Wolverhampton and Birmingham city centres are currently in storage at Long Marston Airfield. The e-Auction will ...

TfL planning document reveals the transport body’s hopes that all three plans — mobile coverage underground, the fibre network, and 5G support — would help fund the transport system: “Our expectation is that the commercial partner will cover the capital and operating costs of the telecoms operation and would provide a revenue share for us.” It added that mobile operators said no customer data would be “directly available” from the proposed system, though TfL ...

Many major cities around the world are seeing rapid population growth, resulting in increased strain on existing road and public transportation network infrastructure as the numbers on the daily commute swell. Smart mobility – putting data, information, and options in the hands of the travelling public – has been beneficial to many of these cities, allowing better use of fixed resources and more efficient movement around the urban space. Opening up live and static datasets for public ...

Operator SNCF Transilien has had a novel idea to increasing passenger safety in France. On the Île-de-France région’s suburban rail network, the train company has revealed a specially designed train that has a red “monster” liveried on its train doors. The monster’s jaws are separated once the train is at a station but as the doors close, the jaws – and teeth – come together, discouraging passengers from making a last ditch attempt to jump aboard and potentially risking getting ...

The bus system is the workhorse of New York City public transit, serving residents of all ages, ethnicities, and income levels across all five boroughs. Its size and scope is unparalleled, with 5,700 buses, 330 routes, and 16,000 stops serving well over two million passengers each day—more than the combined daily ridership of LIRR, MetroNorth, PATH, and New Jersey Transit.[i] The bus system is also the future of New York City public transit, connecting emerging job hubs outside of ...